Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance -- United States,
Second Quarter, 1995

CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance program
(ABLES) monitors elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) among adults in
the United States (1). Twenty-three states, representing 64% of the
U.S. population, report BLL surveillance results to ABLES. This
report presents data from ABLES for the second quarter, 1995.

Based on the total U.S. population, the 26,832 reports (2) of
adults with BLLs greater than or equal to 25 ug/dL reported to
ABLES in 1994 represents approximately 42,000 reports throughout
the United States, and the 12,137 persons on whom these reports
were made represents approximately 19,000 persons.

During April-June 1995, ABLES received 5870 reports of BLLs
greater than or equal to 25 ug/dL, a decrease of 7% from the 6314
reports for the same period in 1994 Table_1. Compared with the
second quarter, 1994, reports for 1995 decreased 4% for BLLs 25-39
ug/dL, 17% for BLLs 40-49 ug/dL, and 21% for BLLs 50-59 ug/dL;
reports increased 4% for BLLs greater than or equal to 60 ug/dL.
During January-June 1995, cumulative reports of BLLs greater than
or equal to 25 ug/dL increased 1% over reports for the same period
in 1994 Table_1. Cumulative reports increased for BLLs 25-39
ug/dL but decreased for all higher levels. Although there was some
variation in the second quarter of 1995, the trend of increasing
reports at the lower reporting levels and decreasing reports at the
higher levels is consistent with the data for 1994 (2).

Editorial Note

Editorial Note: Reporting of adults with elevated BLLs reflects
monitoring practices by employers. Variation in national quarterly
reporting totals may result from 1) changes in the number of
participating states, 2) timing of receipt of laboratory BLL
reports by state-based surveillance programs, and 3) interstate
differences in worker BLL testing by lead-using industries.

The data presented in this report document the persistence of
work-related lead exposures as an occupational health problem in
the United States. ABLES can further enhance surveillance for this
preventable condition by expanding the number of participating
states, reducing variability in reporting, and distinguishing
between new and recurring elevated BLLs in adults.

Table_1Note: To print large tables and graphs users may have to change their printer settings to landscape and use a small font size.

TABLE 1. Reports of elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) among adults, number
of adults with elevated BLLs, and percentage change in number of reports
-- 23 states, * second quarter, 1995
===========================================================================
Second quarter, 1995
Reported --------------------- Cumulative Cumulative % change
BLL No. No. reports, reports, 1994-
(ug/dL) reports + persons & 1995 1994 @ 1995
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
25-39 4,393 3,476 9,307 8,659 + 7%
40-49 1,152 817 2,349 2,754 -15%
50-59 208 136 453 540 -16%
>=60 117 68 199 229 -13%
Total 5,870 4,497 12,308 12,182 + 1%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas,
Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
+ Data for Alabama and Michigan are missing; second quarter 1994 data are
used as an estimate.
& Individual reports are categorized according to the highest reported BLL
for the person during the given quarter. Pennsylvania provides the number
of reports, but not the number of persons; the number of persons for
Pennsylvania in this table are estimates based on the proportions from
the other 22 states combined and the number of reports received from
Pennsylvania. Data for Alabama and Michigan are missing; second quarter
1994 data are used as an estimate.
@ Data for the second quarter of 1994 are corrected (3) from data published
earlier (4) and include data for Maine, which were not previously
included.
===========================================================================

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